The invention relates to a system for controlling reproduction machines such as copiers and printers, and more particularly, to methods and apparatus for calculating and displaying job requirements such as job completion time and paper requirements.
As reproduction machines such as copiers and printers become more complex and versatile in the jobs they can do, the user interface between the machine and the operator or user, which in essence permits the dialogue between operator and machine, must necessarily be expanded if full and efficient utilization of the machine is to be realized. This is particularly important in a reproduction center or multi-machine environment where an operator is always concerned about the availability of machine time as well as the requirements for supplies such as copy sheets.
It is important for efficiency of operation for an operator to be ready to load a machine with documents and begin a second job run as soon as possible after the completion of a first job run. Yet, it is wasteful of time for an operator to simply wait for the first job to be completed when other tasks could be accomplished while the first job is in process.
It is also very inefficient for an operator to discover during the processing of a reproduction job that the machine has stopped because of a lack of paper in the supply tray. The problem becomes greater in complex machines with several trays holding a variety of stock. Each time the operator must return to the machine and resupply a paper tray there is a significant loss in productivity.
Various prior art techniques are directed to operator determination of job requirements, for example:
U.S. Pat. No. 4,627,715 top Kikuno discloses a product monitoring system for a copier that determines if there is sufficient paper to complete a programmed job based on the size of the job. A warning signal is produced if the paper supply is insufficient.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,503,960 to Koelman et al. discloses a supply monitoring system for a copying machine. The system compares a measured value of the paper supply to an amount of paper required for a job and determines if there is sufficient supply to complete the job. A signal is produced in response to an insufficient paper supply.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,511,243 to Smith discloses a system for determining the time remaining to complete a copy job. A time value is computed using a signal indicative of the time to produce a single copy and a signal indicative of the number of copies remaining.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,816,864 to Tanaka et al discloses a system that permits an operator to be informed of the exact time that a programmed job will be completed.
One difficulty with the prior art systems is that even if the time to completion is continuously determined, it is generally not provided in a format that is easily observable or understood by the operator except under close inspection. It would be desirable for an operator, especially one tending to a plurality of machines, to be able to easily observe the percentage completion or time required for completion of a job for any one of the machines regardless of the location of the operator in the reproduction center, and be able to restart the machine as soon as possible to begin another job run.
Another difficulty with the prior art systems is the deficiency of informing the operator of the exact number of copy sheets required for a particular job in each of a variety of copy sheet sources. For example, a particular job might require "x" number of copy sheets from tray 1, "y" number of cover sheets from tray 2, and "z" number of tab inserts from tray 3. It would be much more efficient to complete job runs, if the operator knew precisely the paper stock required before the start of the job run, to eliminate inefficient job run stoppages.
It is an object of the present invention, therefore, to provide a new and improved technique for providing an operator at the beginning of a job run an exact count of the paper stock required at each paper tray to complete the job. Another object of the present invention is to provide an operator with a prominent display of the amount of time required to complete a job as well as a prominent display of the percentage completion of the job without the need for the operator to closely monitor the machines. Further advantages of the present invention will become apparent as the following description proceeds and the features characterizing the invention will be pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part of this specification.